For his part, Schofield put the blame squarely on Croft for allowing Katona to go through with the interview in her state.

He said: 'Unfortunately she set herself up, or she was set up by the person who brought her in.

'In my mind she shouldn’t be paraded on television - she should be taken home and loved up and cared for.'

Strained: Kerry outside her home in Wilmslow, Cheshire, the day after her This Morning appearance

He added: 'What I would have to say is that if you are concerned about your wife - as he obviously is - and you are the person who has accompanied her in a car to bring her into a television studio, and you notice that particular morning her medication or whatever is having an effect on her speech, surely you shouldn't bring her into the studio.'

Croft denied speculation his wife was under the influence of alcohol during the appearance, insisting her behaviour was a result of prescription medication.

Schofield said producers were unaware of Katona's condition before going to air, and denied the presenters 'ambushed' her.

He explained: 'She arrived very late and didn't give anyone any time to sit down and talk to her.

Erratic: Kerry Katona shocked viewers with her bizarre appearance on This Morning on Wednesday

'She came through to the studio, we kissed her on the cheek and the programme went on air, so at no point had we any idea what condition she might be in.'

He insisted there was 'no way that our producer would have allowed that interview to go ahead, had we known the situation she'd found herself in that morning.

'The last thing I want to do is to witness a car crash in front of my eyes.'

'I know that she walked down the corridor and said that we'd ambushed her in the interview. At no time were alcohol or drug issues going to be mentioned, because we've done that in the past. She ambushed herself by slurring her words.'

After the interview, Kerry vowed: 'I'm never coming back on this show.'

Schofield countered yesterday: 'Well, until she’s better, we wouldn’t let her on anyway.'

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